More Goodbyes
When I moved to Medicine Hat to work, I never expected I'd get so attached to the people I'd meet. Golfers, cucumber pickers, and waitresses . . . I feel like I'm always saying goodbye. That's the problem with leading a solo nomadic life, I suppose. As I sang country karaoke with a friend from the golf course, I wasn't really thinking about the song we sang, "Cowboy take me away." Instead, I was thinking "Closing Time" where "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end . . . " Tomorrow, I fly to Vancouver and a new beginning. But eventually that beginning will bring goodbyes.
Driving Home
There are two major ways to get to Frontier from Medicine Hat. One route is a little longer, but on faster better highways. The problem for me is that you stay on the boring TransCanada way too long. The way I prefer takes you past Cypress Hills Park where you might just see a moose. Then for a stretch, you have to take a gravel grid road because the highway around Old Man on His Back platuea died over a decade ago.
When you turn south onto the grid north of Claydon, you experience the beauty of the prairies and you realize that they aren't as flat as you always thought. You find yourself driving on the top of a hill and below you is more than an expansive horizon. You see a checkerboard of fields and a lingering haze that makes the view somewhat magical. And I know I'm almost home.
If you drive this road at night, look left. The twinkling collection of lights is my village, tiny Frontier. It seems so near, but it will take you half an hour to get there.
Quality Time with Dad
Dad works a lot. When he gets home from work, more work awaits him. There's always work when you're a farmer.
Sunday morning. My first Sunday at home in many many months. I wake up, yawn, and head to the shower. One problem. No water. The pump from the well quit. And you probably won't find a new one on a Sunday in small town Saskatchewan.
Fast forward to Monday night. Grandma picked up the new pump in Shaunavon so after supper, Dad, Radar and I mosey over to the well, unaware of the complications that await us. We had to bother a famer/electrician for some missing parts. Then we had some tangles with hoses. But by 12:30 that night, we had water. And covered with rust and sludge, man, did we need it. I was ready to take a shower.
Hopefully, I won't need to do any plumbing or electrical work in Vancouver.
7 comments:
I love the prairies too. My parents are building a home in the farmlands of flat Illinois. They are building it ontop of a hill. They will have a great view. Brad LOVES to tease because the hill is small to him. He really doesn't even consider it a hill. But because the hills are rarer in Illinois the views are fantanstic. Flat land girl at hear I guess.
Alicia<><
Enjoying your thoughts once again....
katrina
Reminded me of our foibles with utilities...here in Chile if you forget to go pay for something (you actually have to go to the business, wait in line, and pay each month; this process to pay all bills takes an entire day each month), they cut it off. Or if your gas tank runs out there goes oven, stove, water heater all at once until a guy can come swap out the tank...and then you have the power outages...latin american countries are infamous for these delightful occurences....but don't get me wrong; I'm not bitter, but I sure do appreciate it more now when all utilites are working...alrighty, blessings.
Jen!! God bless in Van! I can hardly wait to read your blog to hear about all the adventures that await you.
Have fun in Vancouver! Hopefully I can get up there and meet up with you and Dana sometime this year. Good luck being on the other side of the classroom this fall!
Way to go plumber-Jen :)
Good to hear some more news. I hope you'll get some meaningful time in with your dad....
God Bless. Laura
Hi Jennifer! It's me, Heather (formerly Heather Kroeker) - from Whit II. I got your email, and I also have a blog - so please come check it out.
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